Lace - Venice: A Travel Guide to Murano Glass, Carnival Masks, Gondolas, Lace, Paper and More - page 41

filet lace is also produced, especially in Chioggia, and involves embroidering designs using
a long, flat needle on top of a lace net.
Traditionally, Venetian punto in aria is made with a single needle and linen thread.
Designs are built stitch by stitch, requiring hours of work to produce mere centimeters of
finished lace. As in past centuries, most lacemakers work from pattern topics. The lace-
maker traces or draws the design onto parchment, then fastens it to a piece of linen for
support, using basting stitches. Each woman typically secures the design on a special pil-
low called a cussinello , which rests on her lap, sometimes with a small drawer for needles,
thread, scissors, and thimbles.
A mesh or net background—referred to by the French term réseau , meaning “net-
work”—forms the field for design elements in lace. Lace specialists can often identify the
origin of the lace based on the type of réseau . For Burano, the réseau resembles ladders
stacked side by side, each bar stitched meticulously one by one.
Once the background is established, the lacemaker may work the interstices of the pat-
tern. Buttonhole stitches form the basis of many of the main designs. Other decorative ele-
ments may be added with picot or other special stitches to add raised work to the design.
Once finished, the underlying linen is cut free from the completed piece of lace.
Because traditional lace is so time-consuming, the lacemakers of today use a hybrid
method of machine-sewn backing with some handmade finishes. The piece begins with
a pattern, a template on parchment-thin paper, which is then slowly and carefully hand-
sewn onto a piece of fabric using a sewing machine. Next, the piece passes through the
hands of several different women, each responsible for one type of finishing stitch or
design—swirls, rosettes, and so on.
Even using this more modern hybrid technique, a piece smaller than a placemat may
still take two to three months to produce and can be expensive. Most pieces end up framed
or in other types of displays because they are too precious to use in everyday life.